Censorship

DEFINITION

Censorship is the act or process of examining and removing obscene or otherwise objectionable material; the act of expurgating. A censor is a person who examines and removes such material. To censor is to examine and remove such material. To censure is to criticise severely; to blame. A censure is an expression of disapproval, blame, or criticism, which may be an official declaration of such disapproval. Censorious describes the tendency to censure.Quote: "Under ordinary circumstances, bad art naturally gets sorted out and disappears. That is how history works when it is left alone to do its job. The paradox of the culture wars is that they have made celebrities out of some artists who would otherwise vanish. Censorship has become a growth industry. This may be the best argument, in the end, for unfettered freedom of expression." Michael Kimmelman, American art critic, writing about a controversial exhibition of works by Young British Artists, owned by adman Charles Saatchi, New York Times, October 1, 1999, B29. The American Library Association says that among the most frequently challenged books of the decade 1990-2000 were: I know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. SteinOther resources on censorship: Censorship & the Arts in Canada is a survey of the place where censorship and the arts intersect. It examines the legislation and institutions that make censorship possible, discusses problems citing concrete examples, and draws conclusions together from arts professionals and civil libritarians. Also see aniconic, art criticism, degenerate, erotica and erotic art, fascist aesthetic, feminism and feminist art, fig leaf, First Amendment rights, gymnophobia, iconoclast, iconomachy, iconophobia, iconophobiac, iconophobic, New Deal art, nude, placeholder, political correctness, pornography, transgressive art, and xenophobia.